If we can sparkle he may land tonight

London Day 8

This morning I went on a Street Art/ Graffiti tour of London’s East End. I have never been a fan of graffiti, I have always regarded it as downright criminal damage and vandalism - there is some pretty awful stuff back home - but I went on the tour with an open mind.

The tour guide turned out to Jessica (from Friday's Ghost Tour) and there were some pretty serious street art buffs in the group. 

Apparently, street art is now a global tourism force. There are specialist tours in Berlin, Paris, New York and Melbourne, in several British cities – and astonishingly, about ten different graffiti tours in London alone. The tour took me round the streets of the East End - Petticoat Lane, Toynbee St., Fournier St., Fashion St., and Brick Lane to name but a few.  We saw lots and lots including x-rayed bones by Shok 1 (most street artists have a nom de plume), some awful ‘paste-ups’, pictures by ‘Stik’ and a 30-foot bird by Belgian artist Roa. 

Towards the end of the tour we came across a rather sorry looking Triumph GT6 which was created in 1999 by Banksy. Unfortunately bits of the work have been stolen - it was originally driven by a painted skeleton which was replaced by a wooden board and the whole thing now looks rather unloved.

Had a quick look round Spitalfield's Market before heading over to the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth.

I thought that the most impressive "artwork" was the one pictured. How the artist captures the sparkles and the third dimension is amazing.  I have not altered the photo in any way.

More pictures of the street art  here.

Makes me think of Bowie's lyrics.